What's new?

New Renewables, Energy Efficiency and Governance legislation comes into force on 24 December 2018

Three key pieces of legislation in the Clean Energy for All Europeans package, namely the Renewable Energy Directive, Energy Efficiency Directive and Governance Regulation, have been published in the EU Official Journal on 21 December and entered into force on 24 December 2018. More information on the European Commission website here.

Co-legislators reach a political agreement on electricity market design

New rules for making the EU's electricity market work better have been provisionally agreed by negotiators from the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission. Read the European Commission press release here.

European Commission publishes its strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy by 2050 – A Clean Planet for all.

The proposed Strategy does not intend to launch new policies and it is meant to set the direction of travel of EU climate and energy policies. The Commission Communication looks at a number of different scenarios and their greenhouse gas emission reduction potential, and specifies seven strategic areas where joint action is required in order to reach a climate neutral economy. The Commission press release is available at this link.

TSOs-DSOs to continue cooperation for smarter electricity grids

The constructive cooperation of distribution system operators (DSOs) and transmission system operators (TSOs) continues: CEDEC, EDSO for Smart Grids, Eurelectric, GEODE and ENTSO-E signed today an updated Memorandum of Understanding. Read the entire press release here.

Mr Pototschnig, current ACER Director, to stay on as Director ad interim, until his successor is appointed

ACER Administrative Board, in its meeting of 23 July 2018, took note of the fact that the procedure for the selection of the next Director of the Agency, launched with the publication of the vacancy notice on 30 August 2017, did not result in any appointment and, therefore, determined to invite the current Director, Mr Alberto Pototschnig, to remain in office as Director ad interim beyond the end of his current mandate on 15 September 2018.

Austria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

On 1 July 2018, Austria took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, running under the motto "A Europe that protects". The Presidency has announced its priorities earlier in June, with the programme available for download here. On energy-related issues, Austria will focus its efforts on the completion of all legislative proposals from the Clean Energy Package on which work is still pending.

New Publications

GEODE welcomes deal for an Energy Market Design for Europe

GEODE welcomes the deal reached on the Clean Energy Package and congratulates the co-legislators on the dedication and competence they have demonstrated throughout the process. There now is a regulatory framework to keep Europe on track to accomplish the energy transition and reach our climate and energy goals, paving the way towards deep decarbonisation until 2030 and beyond. The full statement is available here.

Joint response to European Commission vision for a climate neutral economy

In accordance with the UNFCCC Paris Agreement, the European Commission has issued A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy. We, the members of eleven energy sector associations, welcome the Commission's vision. Read our response in full here.

GEODE Statement to European Commission Strategy for a Climate Neutral Europe by 2050

GEODE, the association representing local energy distributors across Europe, welcomes the European Commission long-term strategy for a climate neutral Europe by 2050, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. GEODE is pleased to find that the strategy reflects our own vision for decarbonised, decentralised, digitalised energy systems – which are enabled by Distribution System Operators becoming active neutral market facilitators. Read our full statement here.

GEODE believes the European Commission's Proposal is in contradiction to the stated aim. Read our full statement here.

Three DSO associations publish their side-letter on the EU DSO Entity

The three signatories - EDSO for smart grids, eurelectric and GEODE - have published the joint side-letter on the EU DSO entity. The side-letter outlines how the EU DSO entity should be regulated, which principles should be defined in the EU Regulation and which should be addressed in the upcoming Statutes. You can read more at this link.

The EU associations representing DSOs - CEDEC, EDSO for smart grids, eurelectric and GEODE - are convinced that the KORRR methodology proposal still contains several parts that conflict with EU legislation and risk the benefit of the system as a whole. Read more about the DSOs' concerns here.

Press release: GEODE welcomes new Chairman

Hans Kreisel, President of the municipally-owned Skellefteå Kraft, Sweden's fifth largest electricity producer and the owner of a 12,000-km electricity grid spanning across nine municipalities, has been appointed as new chair of GEODE. Read more in our press release.